NIGERIA AND ECONOMY – National Bureau of Statistics officially confirmed on Wednesday that the Nigerian economy is in recession.
Although various government officials, notably the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Godwin Emefiele, and the Minister of Finance, Kemi Adeosun, had over a month ago said the economy was in “technical” recession, the official confirmation came with the release of the new figures.
The statistics bureau said the second quarter 2016 Gross Domestic Product (GDP) declined by -2.06 per cent.
Annual inflation rose to 17.1 percent in July from 16.5 percent in June, and food inflation rose to 15.8 percent from 15.3.
“The pace of the increase in the headline index was however weighed upon by a slower increase in three divisions, namely health, transport, and recreation and culture divisions,” the NBS said.
The statistics agency said the onset of the harvest season was yet to significantly impact on food prices, with food sub-index rising by 15.8 per cent (year-on-year basis) in July, about 0.5 per cent points lower from rates recorded the previous month.
Equally, the agency said energy prices accounted for the rise in inflation for the month, with energy and energy related prices recording some of the largest increases reflected in the core sub-index.
“In July, the core sub-index increased by 16.9% during the month, up by 0.7% points from rates recorded in June (16.2%).” the report said
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